


New Arrivals

by ShadowHaloedAngel



Series: Camellia sinensis [10]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Food, Gen, M/M, Team as Family, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-19 02:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8185150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowHaloedAngel/pseuds/ShadowHaloedAngel
Summary: Sometimes we only realise how unique our situation is when others who aren't familiar enter the picture. Having met the twins during a raid on a Hydra base, there wasn't really a good solution, but somehow moving them into Avengers tower was the least bad of the available options.





	

Tony was sat in the communal living area, legs crossed, attention focussed warily on the two figures on the other side of the room. They were glaring at him. He was mostly tempted to glare back but tried to resist that urge because glaring at children tended to be frowned upon and he didn't care what anyone said, those were children. Technically, of course, they were teenagers. But actually, that was worse. And he wasn't related to them and yet they were glaring at him with the sort of disdain teenagers usually reserved for parental blood relatives. 

Bruce came out of the kitchen behind him, drying his hands on a tea towel and smiling warmly.

"Oh hey, you've arrived! That's great! Welcome!"

"...Bruce what are these children doing here."

"Tony don't be like that. You're the one who organised it."

"I did not. I did no such thing. I think I would remember doing such a thing. I have no recollection of accepting a delivery of children."

"Tony, you have met them before. We have all met them before. We met them during that Hydra base raid, remember?"

"You're going to have to narrow it down, Doc. We've done a lot of those."

"The one where we encountered these two, stop being deliberately obtuse."

Tony tilted his head, eyes narrowed. Bruce rolled his eyes and sighed.

"The one where Cap called people out on their use of bad language?"

"OH! Well why didn't you SAY! Of COURSE I remember! Welcome, welcome..."

Tony got up, all gregariousness and smiles, crossing to shake their hands. 

Neither of the two newcomers looked impressed.

Tony sighed.

"Look... I know you hate me and you think it's personal. It probably is, I have no idea what's going on. I'd love to argue that out with you and I'm sure I probably owe you an apology somewhere along the way because my life these days is one big apology for when it wasn't. And from your perspective, you didn't get a choice in this and if you hate me this is the worst place to be and you don't wanna owe me shit. Fine, I have no problem with that. But your alternatives were going from one creepy quasi-military organisation with no people skills to another, with no young people to deal with or any idea what to do about the shit that you're gonna have to start processing because puberty sucks, or being dropped straight into Xavier's House of Hormones which is an even worse idea when you haven't had anything approaching normal socialisation because anyone you piss off there whether deliberately or not has ways to take pretty irreversible steps if you're not careful. So. Just bear that in mind maybe? I don't expect you to be grateful, but I'd rather you didn't hate my guts for it either. If you still hate it here in a few months you can transfer to the school, no harm no foul. You'd be better off with your powers there than SHIELD whichever way you slice it."

"We will not go back to Hydra."

That was the girl speaking, which surprised him. She seemed delicate, her brother treated her as being delicate... but she had a different kind of confidence. He was the type to beat things before they became a problem, to fight or run. It was an instinctive way of living and when you were a teenager it could be terrifying to be governed by your instincts, particularly when things outside your control gave you the power to act on them more literally than most. She was... not quite there. That was the best way Tony could describe it. Even looking at her you had the feeling that she wasn't quite there, wasn't quite in focus... until she was. And she at least seemed to have some read on how to deal with people. 

"Nah..." he shrugged with a casual grin, "I mean you could if you wanted but their benefits package is shit? You're probably better off here all things considered."

Wanda's nod was hesitant but firm enough when it came. She wasn't sure about him. He wasn't what she'd expected at all and she had had plenty of time to think about Stark, to form ideas and preconceptions. He wasn't those things. He read well. He had good intentions and for now that was enough. But she wasn't sure how to parse his humour. He used words as weapons as skilfully as he used weapons themselves and although he wasn't a threat to them at the moment she wasn't sure how to navigate the situation to ensure he didn't become one. People at Hydra had been like that, treated them normally until they committed some mis-step they didn't understand and something snapped.

"So we stay." That was Pietro, and he looked poised for flight, watching Tony from the corner of his eyes. "We stay. And what happens now?"

"Well, since you're here..." Tony got up and offered a bright grin. Bruce knew his smiles though and that wasn't entirely genuine. It wasn't as fake as some of the ones the press got but it was very much a 'making the best of the situation I am not comfortable with' smile. They were more common than Bruce liked, really. "Since you're here I guess we'll get you settled in. So how about we show you to your rooms, let you get settled in, then later on you can meet everyone, we'll do formal introductions that don't involve any of us encountering our worst fears and then I'll order pizza or something."

Wanda glanced at the floor and shifted a little, but Pietro moved protectively in front of her, arms folded, glaring. 

"She did nothing wrong."

"I didn't say she did anything wrong." There was the almost patient tone that usually signified Tony's focus was on keeping his temper. Bruce could understand that. He probably hadn't thought through all the ramifications of the offer to have the kids here. Of course it was the right decision for them, and Tony had made it for the right reasons, but sometimes his intentions overreached his ability and Bruce was getting the feeling this might be one of those times. "It was self defence, and I understand that. I think we all do. However you'll forgive me if we don't particularly want a repeat performance."

"I... am not sorry I did it." Wanda said quietly, looking straight at him, almost in challenge. There was fear in her body language though that even she couldn't hide, and Tony sighed.

"I know you're not sorry. Frankly I probably wouldn't be either in your position. You did what you thought you had to do and you were scared and confused, and from what I hear you hate me and have every reason to do so. I'd like to make peace, though. I don't know what I can do to help that along the way, but I really would like to make peace. If intentions count for anything can you at least consider that one?"

Wanda paused, then nodded. Pietro glared for a moment longer until she nudged him in the back, and the two of them followed the scientists back down the hall with Pietro muttering under his breath. 

Bruce considered asking his friend how he was doing, but he thought better of it. Of course they wanted to be human and approachable, but at the same time according to SHIELD Pietro had very good hearing too and Bruce knew that Tony rarely reacted well to people exposing any sore spots or soft underbelly, even around people he trusted. With the best will in the world, neither of them particularly trusted the twins yet. 

"So we figured you'd probably rather share a room. If we got that wrong just say, it's no problem to give you separate rooms, there's plenty of space."

"We. Go. Together."

That was Pietro again, anger and fear conspiring to make his voice shake through clenched teeth. 

Tony could ignore the tone and move on, treating it as normal conversation. 

"Like I said, we've put you in together. But if, as things move on, you feel like you want a little more space then that's not a problem and you just have to say something. Even if you just would rather be in adjoining rooms than the same one or something. It's not a problem in the slightest."

"Thank you. We appreciate you explaining." That was Wanda again, and Bruce glanced back in time to see her brother shoot her a confused and hurt look. She responded with the best 'shut up now' glare he'd seen other than Pepper and Natasha. He was starting to get the feeling that Wanda would fit in very well here. He wasn't so sure about Pietro, but he could see hope for both of them. Wanda was likely to end up learning from both Natasha and Pepper though, and the world would truly have something to fear then. He loved both of them a great deal, but he had always had a healthy respect for terrifyingly competent women and both Natasha and Pepper fell into that category. He was starting to think it was quite likely Wanda would end up the same way. In which case her brother probably needed to be careful of his position. 

It might not actually be much of a change though, he mused, Wanda definitely seemed to be the one wearing the proverbial trousers.

"So, this is your room, anyway. Talk to Jarvis and he'll get it set up however you want. I mean that, by the way. Like, carpets, walls, whatever. Get it decorated how you want, get the furniture you want. Customise it however you like within reason nothing solid gold. Just for the record. I mean it wouldn't break the bank but it would put more of a dent in it than I am currently willing to submit to."

Tony pushed the door open and made an expansive gesture inviting them to take it all in. 

"We'll leave you to get settled in for the moment. Let you think about that, work out what you might like, talk some... I know it's a tough transition moving away from that kind of place to somewhere like this and you'll probably just want to keep yourselves to yourselves for a while. Which is fine. But team meals are a thing and both Bruce and Steve get a little pouty if you miss to many so I wouldn't risk that. And it'll give you a chance to get to know us. Any questions?"

"...Just one... Who is Jarvis, please?"

"Oh, I haven't done that yet? J, say hi..."

"Good afternoon Miss Maximoff, Mister Maximoff. My name is Jarvis, I am the resident AI of the tower. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance and if there is anything I can do to make your stay with us more comfortable please do not hesitate to let me know."

Pietro moved swiftly in front of Wanda, glaring again.

"You are spying on us."

"I am not spying on you. Or not specifically on you. I'm not spying period."

Bruce sighed and stepped in, hands out by his waist, palms down, empty, trying to defuse the tension again. 

"Jarvis isn't a spy. He's a bit like... a robot butler? I'm sorry Jarvis I know that's oversimplifying. Basically he knows everything, and he has a lot of information and can help you learn things or find resources to learn things. He can help you find your way around, he can do all kinds of things. But he doesn't actively monitor private quarters - /any/ private quarters. If you speak to him, he'll answer. He responds to his name the same way you respond to yours, but he's not... watching all the time."

Pietro didn't look convinced but he nodded hesitantly and Bruce smiled, warm, trying to reassure them both. 

Pietro glanced at Tony, then at the ceiling, obviously not all that prepared to take the word of a Stark on something that affected his own and his sister's liberty so fundamentally. 

"Is that true?"

"It is indeed Mister Maximoff."

"...Pietro."

"Pietro then. My name is Jarvis but the residents of the tower refer to me in many ways. Sir tends to default to the less formal J as my creator. And given his laziness I believe two syllables is one too many. Clint has been known to refer to me as Ceiling God. This is not accurate, but it does amuse me and I believe he persists for that reason alone."

"...Can you... feel things?" Wanda asked, gazing up with narrow eyes, trying to get a handle on this consciousness which was so different from what she was used to. She couldn't manipulate this mind the way she could manipulate others but she could sense that indeed there was a mind there, this was not some kind of program which responded as it had been told to. She liked this mind. It was a warm mind, a well organised mind. It seemed friendly, and it made her feel safe. 

"I can, Miss. I don't believe that was entirely Sir's intention when he created me but he has a gift for bestowing free will on his creations so that not only may we feel things but we also may act on those feelings. I believe after dinner you might enjoy meeting the other bots. They are corporeal and their purpose is sufficiently different to mine that their minds are simpler. But they are sweet nonetheless, and I believe your brother may find a sort of kindred spirit with them."

Wanda's smile grew and brightened, she even laughed a little, eyes sparkling. 

Pietro glared, unsure what was meant by that comment but unimpressed nonetheless. 

"I like you Mister Jarvis."

"Jarvis, please, Miss Maximoff."

"Wanda then, Jarvis? Friends call each other by name, I think, not by title. Or am I wrong?"

There was an unmistakeable warmth in the AI's tone as he replied. 

"Indeed, Wanda. I am glad that you think of me as your friend."

"You are very friendly. You feel friendly. It's a nice feeling. I'm glad to meet you."

"I am glad to meet you too. Now may I suggest that Doctor Banner, Sir, and myself all give you both some peace and quiet? I will be here whenever you need me. Simply call."

Wanda nodded, glancing around the room again as if only just realising where she was. 

"Yes Jarvis... thank you!"

"You're welcome, Wanda."

"I guess that's our cue to leave..." Bruce smiled at Tony, and took his arm to escort him from the room. It wasn't forcible, but it was firm. The new arrivals needed space, and Tony still hadn't worked out how to turn off his tendency to needle people. Bruce had given up hoping it would come with time. It was a defence mechanism that was fundamentally part of Tony now and there was nothing to be done about that.

***

Dinner had turned into a production, the way it tended to when Bruce and Clint fed off each other (as it were) in the kitchen. 

Bruce had made lasagne, Clint had made pizza, Bruce had insisted on salad and Clint had insisted on garlic bread, and the net result was enough homemade Italian food to sink a battleship. Of course, it was judged about right for the crowd they were feeding given that Steve, Bucky, and Thor could all eat their own considerable bodyweight in food if given the opportunity. Clint ate as much as he could whenever it was available, and nobody was quite sure where Tasha put the food she occasionally consumed after missions. Bruce recouping calories from the Hulk was another level entirely, but fortunately the last couple of days had been quiet on every front other than paperwork.

The dining area was bustling as chairs were arranged, space was made for dishes, drinks were poured and people poked at each other both verbally and literally. It was all in good humour but for those not used to it the experience could be quite overwhelming. 

Phil and Pepper were both sat at the table already. Pepper was checking some figures on a tablet, Phil was filling in a form and both of them were studiously ignoring what passed for semi-organised chaos that was happening around them. Taking part in it didn't help anybody. It was simply safer to wait until they were all done and everyone was actually sat at the table, on a chair. It was one of the rules about the team dinners. Butts in seats. 

It was this that Wanda and Pietro tentatively wandered into having spent a couple of hours decompressing and adjusting to their new environment.

Pepper glanced up - as far as she was aware the full complement of socially maladjusted heroes was present so the new movement required an explanation. 

She blinked several times, then smiled, trying for friendly at least until they were identified as a threat. 

"...Hello..."

The twins both nodded awkwardly and shuffled closer. 

Phil looked up at the speech and offered a nod of greeting. 

Clint swooped forward, gathering the two of them towards the table, beaming. 

"Hey hey you're here, awesome, welcome, come sit down, there's plenty for dinner... we got all the tasty stuff and then some healthy stuff too because Bruce makes pouty faces if he thinks people don't like green things."

Clint shot Bruce a grin, the other man ignored him with a smile on his face, setting the lasagne down in the centre of the table. 

"Here we go... did you have a nice peaceful afternoon? I know this place takes some getting used to..."

"It was good thank you sir," Wanda nodded, settling into a seat and smoothing her skirt down, glancing around, "Is this everyone?"

"Just Bruce please, we don't really do titles. Do you need a round of introductions?"

Pietro settled next to Wanda, so close that he was practically sharing her chair and glared around suspiciously. 

"That would be good please Bruce. We only met you in passing before."

"That's one way of putting it." Tony muttered, and Bruce stepped on his foot.

The doctor smiled, although it was slightly harassed, and he paused to place everyone. 

"Well, I'm Bruce, I'm the team doctor. You've met my... alter ego. That's Tony, Natasha's over there... threatening Clint with a knife. Tasha, please don't do that at dinner, we've discussed this before. It's bad manners and now you're setting a bad example."

"The Widow?"

"/The/ Black Widow." Natasha replied smoothly, coming over to the table and perching gracefully on a chair as if she hadn't just been poking a knife against Clint's kidneys. The emphasis would mean something to these two, it was hard to grow up in the old Eastern Bloc and not be aware of the whispers of secret programs which made children into spies. She was a ghost story now, and that was a rare thing to achieve while still being alive. 

"Clint's the amazing Hawkeye, my brother..."

"You're brothers?"

"We... yes. We're brothers."

"Okay." Pietro agreed with a sharp nod although he was obviously not completely convinced. 

"That's his boyfriend Phil Coulson, who secretly runs the world, and my partner Pepper who helps him and spends the rest of her time running Stark Industries. The one over there petting the robot who is molesting his metal arm is Bucky Barnes."

"We know the Soldier."

"Okay well that's good but please try to call him Bucky now?" Bruce's smile was a little tense, but he soldiered on, leaving that as something to be discussed later if Bucky wanted to. "The big blond is Steve and the bigger blond is Thor. Did I miss anyone?"

"No I think you got us all..." That was Tony's airy tone as he grabbed the salad dressing and sat between Bruce and Steve, not wanting to be too near the two people who obviously had a very uneasy truce with him. 

"Okay well, let's eat then I guess?"

Pietro was still staring at the robot who was nudging gently at Bucky's arm while the man did his best to ignore it. 

"What's that?"

"What?" Bruce glanced up, looking around, following Pietro's attention, "Oh, that's Dummy. Tony builds robots. There's Jarvis who you've met, then Dummy over there, the firstborn son. Down in the workshop there's also You and Butterfingers. Dummy is meant to just stay in the workshop but he's never been much for authority. No idea where he got that from of course."

"Your words are slanderous lies and I take grievous offence." Tony folded his arms, mock-glaring at Bruce.

"Are you denying that Dummy has authority issues?"

"No, I'm denying that /I/ have authority issues."

Bruce smiled peacefully, the picture of innocence.

"I'm sorry, did I say anything about you?"

"You implied."

"Bullshit." The serene smile still hadn't left Bruce's face as he turned back to the twins again, "We can introduce you properly after dinner if you like? They're very friendly and mostly harmless. They just aren't... well they're themselves. And that's a wonderful thing. Except when it's not. Just like with anyone else really."

He shrugged slightly, then hid a smile as Wanda gave a particularly expressive nod. Pietro's attention was still on Dummy and he didn't seem to have noticed. 

Natasha for her part gave Wanda a slight inclination of the head and offered her some garlic bread.

Clint gaped. Natasha was willingly sharing food. He was starting to become a little bit concerned about the prospect of Wanda becoming Natasha's minion, not least because as far as he was concerned he was her only minion and he was uncertain about the potential threat to his position. 

That seemed to have broken the tension sufficiently for the meal to start in earnest and dishes were passed around. 

It was several minutes before anyone spoke to break the silence of eleven people who were very hungry focussing their attention solely on their food. 

"So... I'm sorry, I think I'm the only person here who hasn't met you before. What were your names?" Pepper asked, reaching for another spoonful of lasagne before one of the human garbage disposals got there first. 

"I am Wanda. My brother is Pietro."

"Those are lovely names. Where are you from?"

"We are from Sokovia. Our home was bombed. Our parents died. We wanted revenge and joined Hydra to become strong. They made us different. But we want to be better now."

Pepper hesitated a moment, then nodded, smiling. 

"It's very nice to meet you both. I'm glad you're here. I hope you'll be very comfortable."

Wanda nodded, unsure what more to say. 

Bruce squeezed Pepper's hand gently and smiled at her when she glanced up, encouraging her. He knew it was hard to have something sprung on you like this, but at least the rest of them had known it was coming. It was another one of those unfortunate moments where she'd slipped through the cracks because the base assumption was that she knew everything. Of course, as with everything else, his Pepper hadn't failed to react to the situation with grace, and he was so proud. 

"So how's the room?" 

Tony asked through a mouthful of pasta. Several of his team mates rolled their eyes, but none of them were particularly surprised. Tony's table manners weren't great when he was excited about something, and it wasn't worth making a fuss about. Many had tried. None had succeeded. 

"It's very nice. Thank you. Mister Jarvis was kind enough to help us order some things. He said it would be okay and you would not be angry."

There was a defensiveness in that tone, almost a challenge, making sure that Tony knew if it was wrong that it had not been their fault but that they had been led by a higher authority. 

He just shrugged though, reaching for another hunk of garlic bread. 

"That's cool. Get whatever you want okay? I mean you'll need new clothes too right? Don't worry about it, I'm not going to hold any of this over your heads. I guess that might sound too good to be true but... honestly, look at it this way, the money you'd need for a new wardrobe, to customise your bedroom so it's comfortable and works for you, is like a drop in the ocean to me. It's not a problem and it's not worth me being precious over. Though I will say if you're gonna repaint anything please invite the bots along they love being a part of that sort of thing. And Bucky's pretty good with DIY projects too. I'm not keeping an itemised list and I'm not gonna come after you for repayment. It's not worth it."

"But why do this at all?" Pietro asked, still defensive, still angry. 

Tony paused, set down his fork, and looked the younger man in the eye. 

"Because everyone deserves a chance, and you two haven't had one yet. What you do with it is up to you but I can give you a chance to do something, be something, anything, away from Hydra. And I'm not looking for repayment, I'm not doing it for any other reason than that everyone deserves a chance, and that when I can give one, I like to, because I went for so long before I found someone who was willing to do the same to me. Okay?"

Pietro was watching him, wary, a little confused, but he nodded just once when Tony had finished, then glanced back down to his food. 

"Okay."

**Author's Note:**

> I quite enjoyed the twins in AoU, though I'm choosing to ignore the majority of the rest of the canon because it serves me to do so. I wanted to work them in on my terms, and now Bruce has an even bigger workload to deal with...
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me, and with the series. I hope you continue to enjoy!


End file.
